Solution to Crab Crisis Requires Immediate and Fair Action, Long-term Commitment
Friday, April 18, 2008

CBF Statement

Throughout the Chesapeake Bay, the iconic blue crab population is in crisis.

The population has dropped by 70 percent since 1990. And while there is consensus that we can rebuild a healthy population, we must take action now and over the long run.

Why? There are three simple reasons. First and foremost, water quality is awful. In 2007, 88 percent of the Bay and tidal tributaries did not meet water quality standards. Pollution-caused dead zones and algal blooms leave large areas uninhabitable.

Second, overharvesting has occurred in seven of the last ten years. While the science says it is safe to harvest up to 46 percent of the crab population, in 2007 an estimated 60 percent of the population was caught.

Finally, loss of essential habitat - specifically bay grasses - has made survival of juvenile crabs more difficult. In 2007, there were only 55,000 acres of this critical habitat, only 35 percent of the 2010 restoration goal.

In the 1990s, baywide harvest was worth $183 million ($253 million in 2007 dollars). The value of the 2007 harvest dropped more than 50 percent to $125 million. Exacerbating lower catches, rising fuel and equipment prices are straining the economic viability for watermen. The decreasing value of the fishery trickles throughout the states' economies - picking houses, restaurateurs, and others are feeling the pinch of the crisis.

From the sight of watermen fishing their crab pots, to crab cakes and steamed crabs in the back yard, the Chesapeake Bay blue crab is integral to the quality of life in the region. Pollution must be dramatically reduced if a healthy blue crab fishery is ever to be reestablished in the Bay. To date, the state and federal governments have not come close to meeting the pollution reductions they committed themselves to in the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.

Until our elected officials get serious about reducing pollution, there will not be a sustainable blue crab fishery in the Bay, which provides food to the region, jobs to commercial fishermen, tourist and other economic benefits, and enjoyment to recreational crabbers. Therefore, any and all efforts to reestablish a healthy crab population, along with a robust fishery, must include immediate and ongoing efforts to reduce pollution and restore habitat.

In the short term, to protect the population, scientists have called for a reduction in the harvest of female crabs. In Maryland and Virginia officials says a 34 percent reduction is necessary this year. That reduction must be geographically equitable and developed with the input of commercial crabbers.

With respect to water quality, CBF will continue to push aggressively for programs and funding to reduce pollution. Merely reducing harvest this year will not solve the crab population problems, or protect the watermen's long-term economic viability.

With respect to harvest limits, CBF will work with the states and with commercial and recreational crabbers to ensure sound science and geographical parity.

CBF commends Governors O'Malley and Kaine for publicly committing to reduce the harvest of female crabs and to reducing pollution.

Additional Resources:

A Historical Perspective: In August 1995, CBF proposed creating a blue crab sanctuary to protect migrating females. Read the more about the strategy we offered to Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

All active news articles